Award winner and multi-published author Robbi Perna started penning romantic fiction as a respite from her career as a military analyst specializing in strategic communications. Her historical romance, "My Heart Still Surrenders," won first place in the Florida Writers Association's Royal Palm Literary Award Competition in its category. A year later, "The Roman Phalera, The Vines of Bordessi - Book One" received the award.

Robbi grew up in a strong Italian-American family background in Colorado where she spent the first half of her life. She later relocated to northern Virginia where she built a successful career as a defense consultant. As the only girl, she gained unique insights on the Italian male psyche over the years. Her stories often reflect her heritage and the traits many Italian men and women exhibit, a facet of her stories that appeals to readers. In a recent review, one reader remarked, "I enjoyed how she developed the characters while introducing interesting information about Italy."

Robbi brings a diverse perspective to her stories. Her degrees in the Art History of Augustan Rome and a professional background in business, strategic planning and communications, and military analysis provide a wealth of inspiration and bring her writing full circle. At a reunion, a classmate approached her and remarked, "I remember two things about you. You always wanted horses and you were always writing stories." Robbi happily confirmed she had owned Arabian horses for a number of years before moving from Colorado and she still wrote stories.

Robbi's genre fiction encompasses romance, the paranormal, history, adventure, and women's literature. She is the author of thirty-one published credits that include novels, short stories, articles, essays, and editorials. Robbi’s books are all available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.

When not hard at work developing plots and writing her stories, Robbi speaks to groups about the writing skills a successful author must develop. She presented a guest lecture to an English as Second Language class at a Maryland college about the importance reading plays in the development of English speaking and writing skills. Robbi resides in the wine country of northern Virginia. Her goal is to live up to one reviewer's comments, "When you find a writer who can tell a wonderful story that captures your heart and can tell it superbly, well you simply have a great find. Robbi Perna's stories fit the bill to a T!" Readers may contact her through her website, http://www.RobbiPerna.net or by E-mail, Robbis_Stories@RobbiPerna.net.